Ex-McRae car to go under the hammer.

The Subaru Legacy that took the late Colin McRae to the 1992 British Rally Championship is to go under the hammer in an auction at Cheltenham Racecourse in February.

'J314 PWL' was the machine with which McRae - who died in a helicopter accident back in September - secured his second straight BRC crown, with a clean-sweep of six wins and from six events and it is expected that the car will sell for between ?70,000 and ?100,000.

Also up for auction in the same sale are two Minis as raced by the legendary Paddy Hopkirk.

The 1964 Morris Mini Cooper S, 'CRX 90B', was the prototype for the hydrolastic rally Minis and contested the 1964 RAC Rally in the hands of Hopkirk and Henry Liddon. It was then used by Don and Erle Morley on the 1965 Monte Carlo Rally and remained with the BMC Competition Department until 1968, when it was purchased by Works co-driver Paul Easter.

It subsequently passed through several hands before being fully restored and finishing second to Hopkirk's 'AJB 44B' on the RAC Golden 50 Rally of 1982. It is expected to sell for ?40,000-50,000.

The 1967 Morris Mini Cooper S, 'OBL 45F', began and ended its Works career as a circuit racer (a response to the increasing domination on rally stages the world over of models such as the Porsche 911 and Renault Alpine 110). First driven in anger by John Handley at Brands Hatch in 1969, it went on to contest the Tour de France that year in the hands of Hopkirk and Tony Nash, winning its class.

The car passed into private ownership when the Competition Department was wound up and is now offered as seen at Brands Hatch nearly 40 years ago for an estimate of ?30,000-40,000.